The primary role of containment, implemented by the United States during the Cold War against the Soviet Union, was to prevent additional expansion of the Soviet Union and, more specifically, their political ideology of communism.
After the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were the primary world powers, usually termed “superpowers.” However, they followed different political structures and ideology. The United States promoted ideas of democracy and more importantly, the free market (capitalism). Alternatively, the Soviet Union was run with much more centralized government power, and used that power to run their economy – the Soviet Union’s (USSR) government ran and operated most industry within the country.
The Cold War, which lasted from the end of World War II to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, was known as such because the two competing countries (the US and the USSR) never directly fought in military combat. As both had enormous military capabilities as well as nuclear arsenals, the two countries knew that direct military action against each other would be extremely destructive to both countries, and would result in potentially millions of casualties and loss of power for both countries. Instead, the primary conflict between the two countries was their competing economies (capitalism vs. communism) and their global influence. Most global countries fell under the “sphere of influence” of one of these countries. This meant smaller countries were allied with one of the two superpowers, and frequently were pressured to adopt some or all of their ideology.
Containment was designed to stop or slow the expansion of the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence, and limit the spread of communism throughout the rest of the world. In some cases, this resulted in embargos or other economic and trade restrictions, like with Cuba, a communist country allied with the USSR. In other cases, containment pushed the US into war to prevent expansion of the USSR’s sphere of influence. Proxy wars in Korea (1950-1953) and Vietnam (1955-1975) are examples of this policy – both were conflicts between competing governments and ideologies, and each side in the conflicts received support from their supportive superpower. In this way, neither the US or USSR were directly fighting each other, but the “proxy wars” were representative of the superpowers’ conflict in the Cold War.
A primary effect of containment was the US involvement in both of these wars; thousands of Americans were drafted into military service to fight in wars across the world. Nearly 60,000 Americans were killed or missing in action in Vietnam, in support of the South Vietnamese government. Widespread protests against the war led to a blossoming anti-war movement, and the de facto elimination of the military draft in the US. The military-industrial complex, which was the idea that the US economy and government should prioritize increasing military capabilities and power, grew out of the concerns of the Cold War after World War II; to remain a superpower, America needed to continually build its military.
Besides the wars, Americans felt the effects of containment in media perception of the rest of the world. The news and other media largely supported the government after the end of World War II, and Americans fell into the “us vs. them” mentality that dominated global postwar geopolitics. Socialism and communism were caricatured as evil, and Americans, capitalism, and democracy as the “good guys.” Anti-communist fervor led to blacklisting of Americans who supported or were accused of supporting communist ideology. This backlash against communism was publicly led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who accused thousands of Americans of being unpatriotic or treasonous as a result of their support (or perceived support) of Communism.
While the policy of containment ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of the Cold War, the results on Americans persists to today. The Vietnam War marked a turning point in American perception of the military industrial complex, and Americans began to protest against the policies and effects of containment. Even today, the legacy of the military-industrial complex remains, as the American military is an enormous part of the US economy.
Containment was the primary foreign policy of the United States after the end of World War II in 1945. Its goal was to contain Communism without another global conflict during the Cold War (1945-1991).
The United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) were allied against the Axis in World War II. After the terrible destructiveness of that war, they were the only great powers, or superpowers, on the planet. In the postwar era of 1945-47, the USSR established Communist states throughout Eastern Europe. This led Prime Minister Winston Churchill to give his "iron curtain" speech in Missouri.
The Truman Doctrine, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the Marshall Plan were all a part of containment policy. The Truman Doctrine (1947) promised economic and military aid to both Turkey and Greece. Washington believed both were vulnerable to Communist expansionism. NATO, founded in 1949, was formed as a military alliance against Moscow. America, Canada, and numerous Western European countries joined together in NATO. An attack on any one of those nations was to be considered as an attack on them all. The Marshall Plan (1948-1951) was established to provide economic assistance to Western Europe. Their economies were shattered by the war, and they needed assistance. By assisting these nations, Washington sought to strengthen the bulwark against Communist expansion in Europe.
The rationale behind containment was laid out in an article in Foreign Affairs by George Kennan in 1947. Kennan, a diplomat, called for “long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies” in the hope that Communism would eventually collapse.
America wanted to avoid World War III with the USSR by following this strategy. There were smaller wars, however. The Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1965-1973) both stemmed from the desire to stop Communist expansionism.
There were some serious flaws with the containment policy. First, it underestimated the importance of nationalism in places like Vietnam. Second, America supported some dictatorial regimes who professed to be anti-Communist. And finally, Washington overthrew some governments it thought might become Communist.
The USSR collapsed in 1991, so containment lost its justification. But some legacies of containment remain. For instance, NATO is still in existence.
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